WORKSHOPS
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
Webinar - Saving Belle Tower: Adaptive Reuse, Community Stewardship, and the Preservation of a Former Seventh-day Adventist Church in Petoskey
Thursday, May 21
1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Speaker:
Lindsey J. Dotson
Historic Preservationist / Owner-Operator
Belle Tower of Petoskey / GD Placemaking
Lindsey Dotson is a historic preservationist, downtown revitalization consultant, and owner-operator of Belle Tower of Petoskey, a historic 1891 former Seventh-day Adventist church being rehabilitated as a community-centered venue, creative space, and preservation project in downtown Petoskey. Through GD Placemaking, Lindsey works with communities, downtown organizations, nonprofits, and property owners on historic preservation, grant writing, placemaking, planning, and community development projects. Her background includes hospitality and tourism experience at Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, more than a decade of organizing public events such as farmers markets and concerts in the park, and hands-on work helping historic properties find sustainable new uses. At Belle Tower, Lindsey is leading a phased rehabilitation effort that combines preservation planning, local partnerships, public programming, fundraising, and adaptive reuse to bring a long-underused historic building back into active community life.
Belle Tower of Petoskey is the adaptive reuse of a historic 1891 former Seventh-Day Adventist church at 224 Michigan Street in downtown Petoskey, Michigan. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the former Seventh Day Adventist Church, the building is a distinctive two-story frame Queen Anne structure known for its front-gable form, decorative wood detailing, prominent window treatment, and entrance tower with an onion-like dome.
This session will use Belle Tower as a case study in practical, community-centered historic preservation. The presentation will explore the building’s architectural and religious history, its connection to the broader story of Seventh-day Adventists in Michigan, and the challenges of bringing a long-underused historic property back into active public life. Michigan played a central role in Seventh-day Adventist history: Battle Creek became an important center of the Adventist movement in the 1850s, and the denomination was formally organized there in 1863. The project also connects Northern Michigan’s Adventist history, and one of America’s most significant historical figures thanks to a case of malaria.
Participants will learn how the Belle Tower project balances preservation standards, building code realities, public use goals, local approvals, financing tools, and phased rehabilitation. The session will also discuss storytelling as a preservation tool: how historic research, community partnerships, fundraising, and programming can help reintroduce a building to the public before restoration is complete. Belle Tower offers a real-world example of how preservation can move beyond saving a structure to restore civic purpose, local identity, and long-term community value.
1. Describe the historic and architectural significance of the former Seventh Day Adventist Church in Petoskey and its role within the city’s late-19th-century built environment.
2. Explain how the history of Seventh-day Adventists in Michigan, including the movement’s Battle Creek roots and Northern Michigan connections, adds interpretive value to the Belle Tower project.
3. Identify key preservation challenges involved in adapting a historic religious building for contemporary public, cultural, and community uses.
4. Discuss how phased rehabilitation, local approvals, tax incentives, partnerships, and community storytelling can support the reuse of a historic building.
5. Compare the practical realities of historic preservation work, including code compliance, accessibility, funding, and public expectations—with the broader goal of retaining historic character.
6. Integrate building history, preservation planning, and community engagement into a realistic adaptive reuse strategy for a small-city historic property.
Webinar - Beacon of Hope
Thursday, April 30
1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
AIA: 1 LU/ HSW
AICP: CM 1 #9325964
Speaker:
Julie Jones
Senior Associate
Wiss, Janney, Elster Associates, Inc.
Julie Jones has a diverse background in construction and engineering as applied to the inspection, evaluation, and problem solving of new and existing building enclosure systems. She works on various projects, from facade evaluations and investigations to roofing assessments and replacements.
Before joining WJE, Ms. Jones was a project engineer and manager with firms specializing in building enclosure engineering. She has extensive experience in the investigation, design development, and construction observation of roofing and waterproofing systems. Her project management and construction contract administration experience on numerous building envelope projects ranges from the initial assessment stage through project closeout. Ms. Jones has also performed design reviews for new construction projects to assess for code compliance and to evaluate the design relative to long-term durability, as well as for manufacturer and owner requirements.
Originally founded by German immigrants in 1855, St. Joseph church was built in the Gothic Revival style between 1870 and 1892. Following the decline of the catholic population within the City of Detroit and damage to the steeple roof after a wind event in 2016, the future of the parish and church building were uncertain. At this time, the Institute of Christ the King took over management of St. Joseph Shrine and launched a restoration program of the church building and master planning for the community as a whole. This dramatically revived the parish which has recently swelled to large numbers and is becoming an increasingly influential presence within the City of Detroit.
When unexpected safety concerns were identified by WJE in 2023, the Shrine took on major facade repairs at the bell tower located directly above the main entrance to the church building. Though the magnitude of this restoration project was unexpected, the community at St. Joseph Shrine has embraced the call to preserve their bell tower for future generations and dubbed this important structure a ‘Beacon of Hope’.
This session will discuss the unique challenges associated with accessing an occupied, bustling church building; the behavior of and failure mechanisms related to historic stone structures, particularly those with inaccessible elements; and examples of design challenges when incorporating modern building methods and technologies into existing structures.
1) Comprehend the challenges encountered with the bell tower facade elements and understand the methods of construction.
2) Describe the behavior of sandstone, dolomite limestone, historic mortar, and steel anchorage over 150 years in service.
3) Discss the design constraints, technological changes, and future in-service limitations of the building elements.
4) Explain the history of St. Joseph Shrine church and its continuing evolution within the City of Detroit.
For more information, please call us at 517.371.8080
or e-mail us at Info@mhpn.org